W.T. Clarke High School students celebrate winning "Best in Show" honors at the final city-wide round of the 2009 Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition. Their business plan "Pulse Nail Polish," was selected as the most innovative idea and the most sound business strategy out of the 14 finalist teams competing. They each received $2,000, a cell phone from AT&T and and an opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend an entrepreneurial boot-camp over the summer at Columbia University's new Small Business Development Center.
Presented by Founding Sponsor: G.C. Andersen Partners, LLC
Supporting Sponsors: Angelsoft, AT&T, Columbia Business School & the Fu School of Engineering, Columbia University
Since its debut in spring 1998, this high impact experiential youth entrepreneurship program has grown in popularity and demand, doubling the number of student entries and participating schools in one year.
In the 2009 JA New York Business Plan Competition, NYC and Long Island high school student teams worked under the guidance of corporate mentors to conceive and develop unique and innovative ideas businesses that meets a need or solve a problem in their communities. Over an six-week period, students developed and wrote comprehensive and compelling business plans which were then judged by "expert judges" in a series of heats to select a final group of student teams who competed in a final city-wide competition at Columbia Business School, May 21, 2009.
Each finalist team pitched their plan to a panel of successful business executives and entrepreneurs. The judges selected the top 3 winning teams who were awarded cash & prizes in the following categories:
In addition, all three winning teams were eligible to apply for a scholarship to attend an entrepreneurial boot-camp over the summer at Columbia University. The scholarship provided access to the university's new Small Business Development Center, where they would receive free resources and advice to make their business plans a reality.
